Brake for platform-trucks.



1. L. S MITHH' BRA KE FOR PLATFORM TRUCKS. 7

APPLICATION FILED OCT- 6,1915- v Patented Feb. 8,1916. I

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

INVENTOI? WITNESSES A TTORNEYS "vi/Euro 5. Q7722:

A YTORNEYS 1. L. SMITH.

BRAKE FOR PLATFORM TRUCKS. APPLICATION FILED on. 6, 191 5.

1,171,268. a Patented F4 '2 sums win/8853 D 4 f By views, and in which citizen of the taken on UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN LEWIS SMITH, OF SAVANNAH, MISSOURI.

, BRAKE For. PLATFORM-TRUCKS.

To all ,whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN L. SMITH, a United. States, and a resident of Savannah, in the county of Andrew and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Brakes for Platform-Trucks, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to platform trucks, such as used at railway stations, and the main object thereof is to provide means for preventing a truck from being runoff therailway platform, as by suction or jarring caused by a rapidly moving train or by winds, and likely to cause serious accidents if the truck rolls or falls upon the rails in advance of an approachingtrain.

A further object is to accomplish this result by means of the weight of the-truck. handle, and a still further object is to pro vide means for rendering the device inoperative when desired, my invention being. readily applied to conventional trucks now in use without any structural change therein.

My invention is fully. described in the following specification, of which the accompanying drawings form a part, in which like characters refer to like parts in each of the Figure 1 's a plan view of a truck provided with my. invention, partly broken away to show details; Fig. 2 is a section the line 2-2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a section taken. on theline 3-3 of Fig.2; Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of a fragment of the truck, showing a .part of my invention in inoperative position; Fig.

view of a shaft which I. employ; and Fig. 7 f

grade, and Wlll be locked against any prob: v

other detail of my invention.

' therefor,

rear wheels 13, all of the usual or any de- In the drawings forming a part of this application I have shown a truck comprising a platform 8, front wheels 9, an axle 10 a turntable 11, a handle 12, and

sired form of construction.

Carried in bearings'll, beneath the platform 8 and over the rear wheels 13, is a shaft 15 which is provided with extended arms 16 at both 'ends thereof set eccentric Specification ofLetters Patent.

Patented Feb. 8, 1916.

Application filed October 8, 1915. Serial No. 54,361.

to the axis of the shaft 15, each of said arms having a brake-shoe 17 in detachable engagement therewith, each of which is adapted tobear upon the respective one of the rear wheels 13. Centrally of the shaft f 15 I provide a crank-arm 18 in pivotal connection with a rod 19 extending forwardly beneath the platform 8 and, in turn, connected with a short length of chain 20 passed over a pulley 21 secured beneath the platform 8, the free end of said chain carrying a hook 22 which is adapted to be engaged, at will, with. a staple 23 secured to the bandle 12, but only when the said handle is elevated asshown in Figs. 2 and 7, and I also provide a relatively fixed hook 24 on the platform 8 which may also be engaged with said staple.

The crank-arm 18 is normally held in rearward position bymeans of a coil spring I 25 secured thereto-and to the under side of the platform 8, this normal crank-arm position being also the released positions of the brake shoes 17, as'is clearly shown in Fig. 1' Y but, when the hook 22 isconnected with the staple 23,'the weight of the handle tends to draw the crank-arm forwardly, thus rotating the shaft 15 and causing the brake-shoes tain the handle in elevated position the.

hook 24 may be connected with the staple 23, said staple being made of suflicient length to accommodate itself to either hook.

It will thus be seen that a truck will be prevented from running away, as on a down ability of movement caused by a passlng train,'and it will also be seen that my inven- Having fully described my 1nvention,what

I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

The combination with a truck having wheels, a platform, and a handle movable in a vertical plane, of a shaft secured beneath said platform provided with arms eccentric to the axis thereof, a brake-shoe on each to bear upon'the respective wheels .13,there- :tion maybe easily applied to conventional vtrucks of the class described.

arm adjacent to oneof said wheels, a crank;- arm on said shaft, means .for arbitrarily connecting said crank-arm with said handle,

and means for retracting said crank-arm,

when released from said handle, to release said brake-shoes.

In testimony whereof I have signed my .name to this specification in the presence of two SllbSCI'lblIlg' witnesses. 

